Even their surnames are the same.
Jiu You was somewhat agitated. "Where did this child come from? Were her parents sent over? Do you have any information about her parents?"
Xu Lian's child likes this child, could it really be...?
Pei Ziqu: "Jiang Cuo enrolled at the same time as Su Qianqian. No parents brought him. Jiang Cuo's information shows that he is a poor student. He has been applying for hardship subsidies since elementary school. He seems quite ordinary. Is there anything strange about him?"
After calming down, Jiu You said, "No, but Su Qianqian's family is rich and powerful. Because of Jiang Cuo, she's made a scene, and she'll inevitably become the target of everyone's criticism..."
Pei Ziqu smiled gently. "We've all been through that age. If we really like someone, why wouldn't we protect them? Why bother with all that? By the way, these two documents were from the admissions office. Please give them an explanation."
Upon hearing this, Jiu You's expression immediately turned cold. "Don't think I don't know that in the past two years, he's taken money to force in quite a few bad students. Just fire her. After all, Su Qianqian is so rich. Her grandparents even built two buildings in our school. We should at least give her this much face."
Pei Ziqu had anticipated this outcome. "That's true."
The matter between Xu Lian and Bai Qiu was tacitly ignored by both of them.
"There's one more thing. Hao Duoyu sent me a message saying that you weren't answering your calls, and that your family is having another family dinner tonight to celebrate Jiu Cuo's first day of university."
Jiu Cuo was the daughter of Jiu You.
When she was young, Jiu You obeyed her family's arrangement and married Hao Duoyu.
Due to her strong personality, even after marriage, she pursued a career path and did not want to be confined to family life. She had little affection for Hao Duoyu, and the two treated each other with respect. After having a child, they rarely even met, only seeing each other when they had to attend family gatherings.
Most of the time, Jiu You used being with Pei Ziqu as an excuse.
"Can't you use me as an excuse today? Jiu Cuo is your child, you should love her more. I go to parent-teacher meetings and school admission meetings, which makes people think I'm her mother."
Although Pei Ziqu's words were meant as a joke, she didn't show any reluctance; on the contrary, she seemed quite pleased with herself.
Jiu You didn't think too much about it. "Jiu Cuo calls you Aunt Pei, but he's quite happy to. Okay, if you keep talking, my head will start to hurt again."
"Alright, alright, that's all for now. You can continue with your work. I need to go to class too."
Back then, she, Jiu You, Xu Lian, Bai Qiu, and Jiang Yi were all university classmates.
Xu Lian comes from a wealthy family and she and Bai Qiu are a model couple that everyone at school envies.
And so are Jiu You and Jiang Yi...
Pei Ziqu has remained unmarried for many years and has never had a boyfriend. Since Jiu You became the university president and she became the vice president, she has been diligently guarding the school and staying by Jiu You's side.
Over the years, she watched as Jiu You escaped his family for Jiang Yi's sake.
Seeing that she was powerless to change the situation, she was forced to break up with Jiang Yi after graduating from university. Then, following her family's wishes, she married Hao Duoyu. After giving birth to a son named Jiu Cuo, she stayed by his side silently for more than 20 years. She only hoped that things would continue like this.
...
The two-hour class in the morning finally ended. Su Qianqian yawned. Finally, there were no more classes. Now she could live her lazy life.
The life she's dreamed of is about to begin.
Su Qianqian walked out of the classroom, intending to take the elevator downstairs to return to her dormitory, when she saw Jiang Cuo already waiting for her at the elevator entrance.
"Jiang Jiang, you don't have class next period? Wait for me to go back to the dorm together."
Jiang Cuo leaned lazily against the door, her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed: "I have class next period."
Su Qianqian: "Oh..."
Jiang Cuo: "You don't know my class schedule?"
When Su Qianqian saw that the green 100 points above Jiangsu's head had turned into 80, she immediately explained, "Of course I know. I was setting a trap. I memorized Jiang Jiang's entire class schedule. I was just testing whether Jiang Jiang was planning to skip class. How could a good child skip class?"
"I didn't skip class, I was waiting for you."
Su Qianqian blinked: "What are you waiting for me for? It's not lunchtime yet."
"Shouldn't a sweet puppy go to class with his crush?"
Su Qianqian: "!"
Jiang Cuo's phoenix eyes gradually softened into a melancholy expression. "Does Su Su not want to go, or did she not even think of this? Or... is all that talk about unrequited love just a lie, that she's just after my beauty and playing with me?"
Su Qianqian was filled with regret, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on.
"How could that be? I was just about to give Jiang Jiang a surprise, but I didn't expect her to come first."
During the second period, Su Qianqian, who should have been fast asleep in her dormitory, sat next to Jiang Cuo, nodding off sleepily.
She doesn't want to work hard anymore; she just wants to be a couch potato.
Su Qianqian was extremely bored.
So he secretly made some small moves, reaching out his hand and tightly gripping Jiang Cuo's left index finger, playing with it repeatedly. When he felt it wasn't enough, he let go and poked and tickled Jiang Cuo's palm.
Jiang Cuo lowered his head to write, but his face was completely red.
Every time Su Qianqian scratched her palm, it meant she wanted that kind of reward again.
A note from the author:
Jiang Cuo: She's hinting at me
Su Qianqian: So boring
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:05:51 on April 29, 2022 and 00:10:35 on April 30, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ellie and Dongjun (20 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Forty-Seven
"Noon won't work, and evening won't work either. Let's try again in a few days."
Su Qianqian was completely confused.
Seeing Jiang Cuo's serious expression, she whispered to him earnestly.
What... is it okay?
Su Qianqian decided to stop thinking about it. The professor on the podium was so annoying and his lecture was so boring that Su Qianqian simply lay down and fell asleep leaning on Jiang Cuo's arm.
Looking at Su Qianqian and Jiang Cuo from the podium, Pei Ziqu's memories seemed to return to 20 years ago.
Su Qianqian and Xu Lian really look so alike.
And Bai Qiu...
Recalling Bai Qiu's ordeal that had been reported a while ago, Pei Ziqu could only sigh inwardly.
Years have passed, and things have changed.
I wonder how Bai Qiu's child is doing.
...
Although Su Qianqian didn't have any classes herself, she accompanied Jiang Cuo to class every day as if she were clocking in.
I also learned why Jiang Cuo said it wouldn't work today or tomorrow.
Although she didn't know what was wrong.
Jiang Cuo wants to join the student council.
Su Qianqian didn't think much of it.
After all, Jiang Cuo is an oddball in the world of love-obsessed people, and he wants to pursue a career path.
Jiang Cuo sat in Su Qianqian's dormitory with two application forms in his hand, giving the impression that he wanted Su Qianqian to choose one.
Su Qianqian glanced at Jiang Cuo and saw that his expression was extremely amiable, clearly indicating that there was no room for negotiation.
Therefore, we can only see where Jiang mistakenly reported.
Student Union...
That's great. We don't have to choose this one or that one anymore, and we've skipped the department, so we don't have to worry about gossip and rumors.
Su Qianqian was incredibly straightforward; she immediately wrote her name in the student council section with a flourish of her pen.
The school naturally had to give her some face; once she got in, she could just sit around doing nothing, and nobody dared to say anything.
But there was a hidden undercurrent in Jiang Cuo's phoenix eyes.
"Once it's filled out, there's no going back."
Su Qianqian waved her hand, "Of course I won't go back on my word."
Jiang Cuo picked up two application forms. "I'll go and deliver the application forms first, and then we'll wait for the notification to go for the interview."
Su Qianqian nodded.
Jiang Cuo picked up the registration form and left, looking somewhat preoccupied.
She had her own reasons for getting into this university and joining the student union.
She felt that this did not count as taking advantage of Su Qianqian.
Jiang Cuo's gaze grew increasingly intense, as if he were lost in a painful memory.
My grandparents told me that 20 years ago, it wasn't like it is now, where as long as two people love each other, regardless of gender, and have a certain economic foundation, they can adopt a baby from a welfare home once they reach a certain age.
The adoption process and requirements are both troublesome and complicated. After adoption, the mother may be unable to work or study for a whole year, and may have to simulate childbirth and childcare at home.
Ever since Jiang Cuo learned of Su Qianqian's feelings, he had taken a special interest in this matter.
You'll know that your grandparents didn't lie to her.
So he has parents, but in her memory, her mother is already a blur, and she has never seen her father.
When she was little, she overheard her grandparents talking and learned that her mother had passed away long ago. She also learned that her family had been moving around a lot during her childhood, as if they were deliberately avoiding someone.
During a move, she accidentally saw a stack of old letters. She couldn't understand them when she was a child, but she kept them until she could remember them and read them repeatedly.
She then learned why she was called Jiang Cuo. She took her mother's surname and her maternal grandfather's surname because her mother fell in love with her, a woman. Her birth was a mistake for her mother, because women cannot have children together, but her mother still gave birth to her, which meant that her mother had met a man she would regret for the rest of her life.
Jiang Cuo wanted to know who had killed her mother.